Alias Anna :

Title :

Alias Anna : Zhanna Arshanskaya: a biography in verse : a true story of outwitting the Nazis / Susan Hood with Greg Dawson.

Title:

Alias Anna :

Author:

Hood, Susan, 1954-

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

339 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

ISBN:

9780063083899

Production / Publication Information:

New York : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers [2022]

Summary:

"An inspirational nonfiction novel-in-verse about Zhanna Arshanskaya, a young Ukrainian Jewish girl using the alias Anna, whose phenomenal piano-playing skills saved her life and the life of her sister, Frina, during the Holocaust-from award-winning author Susan Hood, with Zhanna's son, Greg Dawson"--

Bibliography note:

Includes bibliographical references.

Target audience note:

Ages 10 up

Language:

English

Added Author:

Dawson, Greg

Personal Subject:

Dawson, Zhanna-Juvenile poetry.

Dawson, Zhanna-Poetry.

Subject Term:

Women pianists -- Biography -- Juvenile poetry.

Child musicians -- Biography -- Juvenile poetry.

Jewish children in the Holocaust -- Ukraine -- Juvenile poetry.

Children's poetry, American.

Pianists -- Poetry.

Child musicians -- Poetry.

Jewish children in the Holocaust -- Poetry.

Women -- Biography -- Poetry.

American poetry.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library Children's Room	J B ARSHANSKAYA, ZH.	31330009135926	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groveland - Langley-Adams Library	J B ARSHANSKAYA	32121000913463	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Ipswich Public Library	YA 921 ARSHANSKAYA, ZHANNA	32122002985533	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	J 92 ARSHANSKAYA	39965002433075	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library	J B ARSHANSKAYA Z	31550002522339	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A Sydney Taylor Book Award 2023 Middle Grade Notable!

A Jewish Book Council Award Middle Grade Finalist!

The moving true story of how young Ukrainian Jewish piano prodigies Zhanna (alias "Anna") and her sister Frina outplayed their pursuers while hiding in plain sight during the Holocaust. A middle grade nonfiction novel-in-verse by award-winning author Susan Hood with Greg Dawson (Zhanna's son).

She wouldn't be Zhanna. She'd use an alias. A for Anna. A for alive.

When the Germans invade Ukraine, Zhanna, a young Jewish girl, must leave behind her friends, her freedom, and her promising musical future at the world's top conservatory. With no time to say goodbye, Zhanna, her sister Frina, and their entire family are removed from their home by the Nazis and forced on a long, cold, death march. When a guard turns a blind eye, Zhanna flees with nothing more than her musical talent, her beloved sheet music, and her father's final plea: "I don't care what you do. Just live."

This incredible true story in-verse about sisterhood, survival, and music is perfect for fans of Lifeboat 12, Inside Out and Back Again, and Alan Gratz.

Includes extensive back matter with original letters and photographs, additional information, and materials for further reading.

A NERDY BOOK CLUB 2022 BEST NOVEL-IN-VERSE BOOK! A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 2022 BEST BOOK FOR KIDS! A CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST INFORMATIONAL BOOKS FOR YOUNGER READERS OF 2022!

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

This hard-hitting nonfiction biography told in verse documents the escape of two Jewish teen piano prodigies who assumed aliases to avoid Nazi persecution during WWII. Ukrainian Zhanna Arshanskaya and her sister Frina enjoyed a childhood filled with music until Stalin's persecutions and antisemitism forced their family to move to Kharkov, where they lived meagerly until the girls' talent earned them scholarships to a music conservatory. Hood's tone shifts dramatically when Nazis storm the city in 1941 ("life was merry for Zhanna...// Then one morning started the beginning of the end") and soldiers evacuate all Jews on a march toward almost certain death at Drobitsky Yar. Zhanna and Frina, then 14 and 12, narrowly escape back to Kharkov and, with assistance, assume new identities as Anna and Marina Morazova, soon becoming renowned pianists who perform across Europe during the war. While tonally light poems can feel at odds with the wrenching content, quotes from Zhanna herself, collected from Dawson's biography for adults, Hiding in the Spotlight, and rendered in italics throughout ("I was born busy--eaten up by curiosity"), impart weight and power to this accessible portrait of two talented and determined teens. Comprehensive end notes include maps, photographs, letters, and more. Ages 10--up. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (Mar.)

Kirkus Review

Sisters Zhanna and Frina Arshanskaya were piano prodigies in Stalin's Soviet Union who survived against the odds. The Jewish Arshansky family lived in the small Ukrainian city of Berdyansk until the sisters were 8 and 6, when growing antisemitism forced them to settle in bustling Kharkov. The sisters earned scholarships to a famed music conservatory and were happy for some time. But when the Einsatzgruppen, or Nazi death squads, arrived in 1941, the family was forced on a long death march to Drobitsky Yar where nearly everyone was killed. The two girls, then 14 and 12, escaped and made it back to Kharkov. Relying on the kindness of courageous people, Zhanna and Frina obtained false papers and established new identities as Christian girls named Anna and Marina Morozova. They went on to become renowned pianists, hiding in plain sight and entertaining German audiences and Nazi soldiers across Europe. Though constantly living with the risk of discovery, they survived the war with their secret safe. Using a variety of poetry styles and direct quotes from Dawson's mother, Zhanna, the co-authors relate the siblings' horrific and incredible lives. While some of the verse forms seem almost too frivolous for such a serious tale, this work offers readers the truth of the Shoah in a simple and accessible format. A harrowing and remarkable story of strength and survival. (note on names, map, authors' note, photographs, letters, afterword, list of music, historical note, places of note, poetry notes, sources, bibliography) (Verse biography. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

This biography in verse recounts the Holocaust experiences of musical prodigies Zhanna and Frina Arshanskaya, who were among the few to escape the 1941 killing fields of Drobitsky Yar. Using a variety of poetic forms, the text recounts the sisters' early years as poor, secular Jews in Stalinist Ukraine; their move to Kharkov to study music at the conservatory; their flight from Nazis and procurement of false papers and aliases; and their "discovery" by German officers that led to their becoming a part of a traveling troop that entertained Nazi officers. Interspersed throughout the poems are quotations from Zhanna, who only revealed her story in recent years. Drawing on adult titles by Dawson (Zhanna's son), this narrative never shies away from the atrocities of genocide (Zhanna's father, marching to his death, pushes her off the road, whispering, "I don't care what you do. Just live"), but the emphasis on music and its importance to the family helps to moderate the girls' travails. Appended with generous back matter, this offers a revealing look at an underreported Holocaust chapter.